Issue 6 – 1 May 2019

Newsletter Articles

VISION STATEMENT

St Rita’s School will be a compassionate and supportive community built on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, specifically incorporating the Mercy Values which are lived out. We will be a values-based community reaching out to and welcoming the wider community. Our strong school spirit will shine. St Rita’s will be a school in which every member is respectful of self and others

PRINCIPAL’S PEN

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Term 2 at St Rita’s! In the next nine weeks of term, a full calendar of school events and new programs will be happening at school and in our local community. Dates have been set and plans are being finalised for whole school events such as Walk Safely to School Day, Mother’s Day Pampering Afternoon, Under 8s’ Day, a cultural excursion to the Cairns Performing Arts Centre, St Rita’s Feast Day, National Simultaneous Storytime and whole school photos. Classroom teachers are also preparing our Year 3 and 5 students for national testing, NAPLAN, this term. We’re going to be busy!

Last Wednesday, the St Rita’s ANZAC Day Liturgy was held in our parish church. I thank Mrs Maureen Gaul for organising this significant event for our students and families who joined us for this liturgical celebration. On ANZAC Day, St Rita’s School proudly participated in the Babinda community’s commemorative event. I was once again pleased with the parent support we had in being able to have a large group of our students participate. An extra thank you to the parents of our Prep students who participated for the first time and of whom we were especially proud! Also our active parent group must be congratulated for providing the morning tea which followed in the R.S.L. Hall. Many hands did make light work!

A PRAYER FOR ANZAC DAY

O God, our ruler and guide,
In whose hands are the destinies of this and every nation,
We give you thanks for the freedoms we enjoy in this land
And for those who laid down their lives to defend them:
We pray that we and all the people of Australia,
Gratefully remembering their courage and their sacrifice,
May have the grace to live in a spirit of justice, of generosity, and of peace;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever,
Amen

(A Prayer Book for Australia, p 628)

The Safeguarding Children Conference held in Cairns last Saturday was a full day of professional development for St Rita’s teachers. The keynote speaker, Professor Daryl Higgins, is the Director of the Institute of Child Protection Studies at the Australian Catholic University in Brisbane. A snippet of Professor Higgins’ slideshow discussion summarised what we can do, as a school, to ensure our students are kept safe both physically and emotionally.

Key safeguarding strategies for young people

• Promote respectful relationships
• Create physically safe environments
• Adopt child-centred practice
  - Child-centred practice is often compromised by the contexts, organisational cultures and commitments of leadership and peers
  - Children rarely have opportunities to inform or provide feedback on their practice
• Create emotionally safe environments that:
  - Facilitate disclosures
  - Respond appropriately to disclosures
  - Provide a supportive/therapeutic context for victim/survivors

(Safeguarding Children Conference, Cairns, 27th April 2019)

St Rita’s is committed to strengthening our whole community’s understanding of these ‘key strategies’, beginning with the promotion of respectful relationships. This term our school value, and Mercy value, of RESPECT will be the focus of our SEL classroom lessons. Children will be explicitly taught what respect looks like at school, and how respectful relationships impact on the personal safety and wellbeing of all members of our school community.

It’s on again! Mother’s Day Pampering Afternoon! We are pleased to once again host this very special event to honour St Rita’s mothers, the very special members of our school community. It’s the children’s turn to look after you, so please keep Monday 13th May free in your calendar. On this day, all mums, aunties and grandmothers are warmly invited to indulge in an afternoon of pampering at St Rita’s, from 1:30pm - 2:55pm. Expect to receive your individually designed and produced invitation next week. I particularly look forward to Mother’s Day Pampering Afternoon each year, so I hope to see everyone there!

Before the holidays, Miss Donna and I participated in a Social Media workshop facilitated by CES Media Officer, Ms Kathryn Dryden. We were both keen to learn more tips on maintaining an interesting and informative St Rita’s facebook page, and we did come away with some new ideas. We encourage you to ‘like’ and ‘share’ our facebook posts with your family and friends, and we welcome you to make any ‘comments’ also, as these boost our engagement with all school families and the wider community. Our Miss Donna is a talented photographer and the gorgeous photos she takes at school have been a welcome addition to our facebook page.

You may have noticed that we have recently removed the shadecovers over the new Junior Playground. Thank you James, dad of Robert in Prep/1, for assisting my husband with this task. As the covers no longer filled WH&S regulation requirements, as there was an inadequate distance between the playground and the edge of one of the covers, it is necessary for us to have them replaced. Once again, we will be receiving the support of Cairns Catholic Education Services to do so, and the new shadecover will be erected as soon as possible.

On the topic of shade and keeping safe in the sun, I remind you that as a ‘sunsmart’ school, we do have a school rule of ‘No hat, No play!” Although we are saddened to sometimes have to exclude children from play, this rule is strictly adhered to at St Rita’s. We do sell our navy school hats and the legionnaires caps, preferable for younger students, through our uniform shop for your convenience. Please remind your child to bring his or her hat to school each day!

Regards,
Judy Billiau
Principal

HOMEWORK CLUB

An ‘extra’ that our school offers for all students is a weekly Homework Club after school. Each Monday from 3:00pm – 3:30pm we provide a quiet, structured environment for your child to complete his or her homework tasks with teacher support. The St Rita’s Parent Handbook highlights the importance of homework:

“Homework is a valuable part of the learning process of every child. It is designed to give students opportunity for further practise of skills taught in class, to share learning with parents as well as to investigate interests and topics being studied”.

The goal of the Homework Club is for our students to develop solid work habits and organisational skills, and to assist him or her in completing the required homework tasks for the week. I strongly encourage you to take advantage of this ‘extra’ that we provide at St Rita’s!

APRE THOUGHTS

Dear Parents,

Easter Joy

As Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, we too are called ‘to live a new life’ (Romans 6:4). Following the greatest week of the Catholic Church’s year, we welcome you with joy to our new term! The Easter Season is one of wonderment and calm, a celebration of the extraordinary gift of life and salvation offered to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Sadness through the tragic, brutal death of one who came to offer such goodness, turns to hope as the Lord has be risen! As it is written in the Scriptures: We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:9:11). When we are open to God we can find faith in the Risen Lord. This openness to God can be nurtured through reflection on and teaching of Scripture, where God is revealed to us. Renewed in our baptismal promises, as is customary at Easter, we are invited to share in our Saviour’s risen life, and share the peace and goodness of our faith with the world around us

Source: http://www.theemmausseries.com/easter.html accessed 28th April 2019

Prayer and Liturgy at St Rita’s

Sincere thanks must be extended to our students in Years 2-6, who generously share of their gifts to bring Scripture to life at St Rita’s. Through music, dance and drama, these children offer rich and moving prayer liturgies, such as was seen at the recent Holy Week, Easter and ANZAC liturgies. At the end of Term 1, we held a ‘Way of the Cross’ which was a reflection on the events of Holy Week, from Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, through to the Last Supper and subsequent crucifixion and burial of Jesus. Then, last Wednesday, we prayed a combined Easter and ANZAC liturgy. Both were touching liturgies, largely due to the effortful preparations and practise by the students. Great work children!

Project Compassion Success

Our final week of school last term was one of fruitful and fun endeavours, all in the name of charity and solidarity with our communities who are assisted by CARITAS’ Project Compassion. St Rita’s CARITAS Café was, once again a brilliant success; a culinary delight enjoyed through the labours of our budding chefs during the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program. And to finish the ten-week term with some snappy amusement, the whole school competed in a ‘crocodile water relay’, whereby children had to run in teams with containers of water to fill their team’s water bucket, while being careful to avoid the ‘hungry crocodile, aka Mrs Jago! Through this last, seemingly unremarkable game, we aimed to highlight to the plight of less fortunate children across the globe who provide their family’s water supply each day. Fetching water can take hours, and be fraught with the perils of contact with wildlife. Significantly though, this chore denies children the right to an education.

This year, Caritas Australia, has targeted projects in Zimbabwe, Indonesia, the Solomon Islands, Australia, Bangladesh and Vietnam, offering vulnerable people opportunities to create change in their communities. Thank you for your financial support to this cause, as our fundraising for Project Compassion’s 2019 Lenten Appeal has raised $236.80! Though we are a small school, we have a big heart!

Blessings,
Maureen Gaul
Assistant Principal (Religious Education)

SCHOOL COUNSELLOR

The opportunity to participate in the Triple P Positive Parenting Program is available for parents with 0-12 year old children in Innisfail, commencing on Tuesday 30th April 9:30am-11:00am. Bookings are essential – 40 617288 / 0488 321 605. I highly recommend this group program and have participated in the sessions myself after having my own children. The program gave me some extremely helpful parenting tools. If you are unable to attend the sessions in person, check out the website as online sessions are also available at the link below.

TRIPLE P – POSITIVE PARENTING PROGRAM WHAT IS TRIPLE P?

Triple P is an internationally-acclaimed parenting program which is offered free to all Queensland parents and carers of children up to 16 years of age. Triple P is considered one of the world’s best because it has been scientifically shown to work and because it’s already helped more than four million children and their families in more than 25 countries. The Queensland Government is now offering Triple P free as part of its commitment to supporting families across the state.

WHAT DOES TRIPLE P DO?

Triple P helps you:

• Raise happy, confident kids
• Manage misbehaviour so everyone in the family enjoys life more
• Set rules and routines that everyone respects and follows
• Encourage behaviour you like
• Take care of yourself as a parent
• Feel confident you’re doing the right thing

MORE DETAILS ABOUT PPP:

Triple P helps make raising children and teenagers easier and more enjoyable for both you and the kids. It’s about building relationships, communicating well and encouraging the kind of behaviour you want to see. It helps you manage your child’s behaviour, emotions and development in a way that isn’t hurtful.

Positive parenting helps you feel more confident and less stressed about raising children. You’re likely to have fewer arguments with your partner. And kids who grow up with positive parenting do well at school. They make friends easily. They feel good about themselves. They’re also less likely to have behavioural or emotional problems when they get older.

Like the sound of Triple P? Well, here’s just a little taste: five principles that underpin Triple P’s positive parenting. These principles are relevant whether you’ve got toddlers, teens or in-betweens!

1. CREATE A SAFE, INTERESTING ENVIRONMENT

Bored kids are likely to misbehave. Bored teenagers may find trouble. So create an environment that allows kids to explore safely and develop their skills.

2. HAVE A POSITIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

If a child or teenager comes to you for help or a chat, they’re ready to learn. Give them positive attention, even if only for a minute or so. Encourage their ideas and opinions.

3. USE ASSERTIVE DISCIPLINE

Set clear rules and boundaries and follow through with fair consequences. You can negotiate some of these with older kids and decide on the rules and consequences together. Praise little and big kids to encourage the behaviour you like.

4. HAVE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS

Nobody’s perfect – kids, teenagers or adults – so don’t expect your child to do more (or less) than they’re capable of. And remember, we all make mistakes sometimes.

5. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AS A PARENT

It’s all about balance. You’ve got to look after your own needs too, so make sure you’re getting some support, time with friends, and maybe even a little time to yourself!

Larissa Juniper
School Counsellor

LIBRARY LINKS

Hello families and a big welcome back to Term 2,

We are kicking off the new library term with a fun competition of sorts. The aim is to encourage each student to remember to bring their library pouch and books to school each Tuesday for library day. Those who ensure their library pouches are in their school bags, ready for library on Tuesdays, will receive a gold star next to their name, on the ‘You’re a Star’ poster on the library wall. At the end of Term 2, any children with a star against each and every week will have a surprise treat to look forward to. A good, old fashioned way to encourage responsibility and effort, and have some fun along the way.

I have recently sent home the latest Scholastic catalogue for you and your children to have a look through. Enjoy having a look at some of the latest titles available and please remember that there is no obligation to purchase. Should you wish to place an order, you may do so using the LOOP online ordering system or drop in your order and payment to the office.

Here’s to lots of fun and sharing of great books during Term 2.

Lisa Calcagno
Library Assistant

DATE CLAIMERS

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK

COMMUNITY NEWS

Well Women’s Clinic – Babinda Hospital

(This clinic is available to Medicare eligible clients)

Tuesday 8th May 2019
All services are provided by a specially-trained Women’s Health Nurse.
For appointments phone 4067 8200

P & F NEWS

A great start was made to the year with our first P & F fundraiser. Congratulations to the St Rita’s P&F Committee and St Rita’s Staff who helped make the ANZAC Day Morning Tea in the RSL Hall a huge success. The support of so many hands preparing, serving and tidying up made the morning efforts well catered, organised and such an enjoyable morning in our community. I’d like to say a huge thank you to Deb and Chloe whose efforts were greatly appreciated.

Maryjane Masina,
Secretary
P & F Executive Committee

Turn Your Trash into Cash!

The P & F is contributing to the St Rita’s sustainability initiative by organising the collection of recyclable containers that earn 10c upon return to Cash 4 Containers FNQ. Although we are yet to receive our collection bins, the school is keen for parents to begin collecting at home.

Please view the poster in this newsletter to show which specific containers will incur the 10c refund. Although it seems like an insignificant amount paid for each container, it ‘all adds up’ if all families start collecting and sending in their containers. We thank you for your interest and support of this fundraising activity!

Maryjane Masina
P & F Secretary

LETTER OF THANKS

Good morning,

On behalf of the Babinda Sub Branch RSL thank you and St Rita’s School for supporting and participating in the ANZAC Day activities. Please pass on a special thanks to the School Captain Hallie for her participation and carriage of the New Zealand flag. Also please pass on our thanks to the staff, students and families that participated in the parade and provided a morning tea option.

Thank you.

Regards,
Ben Stone
Vice President
Babinda RSL Sub Branch

QCWA CENT SALE

KINDY MOTHER’S DAY CENT SALE